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Fans of the late James Van Der Beek were inspired to see that a GoFundMe set up for his family surpassed $2 million in donations on Thursday.
The fundraiser reached that mark shortly after 10 p.m. ET, meaning it took less than 48 hours after the GoFundMe was set up on Wednesday, shortly after the Dawson's Creek star's death at 48 was announced.
The $2 million mark exceeded the fundraiser's $1.5 million goal, which had been progressively raised from an earlier $550,000 goal
Van Der Beek died following a that he had been waging since August 2023, though he only revealed his diagnosis in November of 2024.
The GoFundMe account was set up to benefit the late actor's wife Kimberly, as well as their six children, who were said to be 'out of funds' after his lengthy and expensive cancer struggle.
In addition to a previously reported , one of the most high-profile large donation came from .
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Fans of the late James Van Der Beek were inspired to see that a GoFundMe set up for his family surpassed $2 million in donations on Thursday; pictured in May 2025 in Hollywood
The fundraiser reached that mark shortly after 10 p.m. ET, meaning it took less than 48 hours after the GoFundMe was set up on Wednesday, shortly after the Dawson's Creek star's death at 48 was announced
The second-highest donation was from filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw; pictured February 10 in Beverly Hills
The A-list couple donated $25,000, just behind the top donation of $30,000 from an anonymous person
The iconic filmmaker and his wife Kate Capshaw made a $25,000 donation to the GoFundMe, marking the second-largest donation behind an anonymous $30,000 gift.
Van Der Beek doesn't appear to have had a real-life professional relationship with Spielberg, but the filmmaker's donation was meaningful to fans of Dawson's Creek, as the late actor's character considered Spielberg to be his hero.
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Like the Jaws director, Dawson aspired to be a filmmaker, and he decorated his bedroom with posters from Spielberg's films as inspiration.
Should wealthy celebrities be giving large donations to support each other's families in tough times?
Although Spielberg and Van Der Beek hadn't worked together, the late actor's character on Dawson's Creek dreamed of being a filmmaker and considered Spielberg to be his idol; Van Der Beek is pictured with Michelle Williams (L) and Katie Holmes (R) in 1998
In September 2025, Spielberg filmed a video message for a Dawson's Creek reunion with the original cast, though Van Der Beek couldn't make it due to illness; pictured with wife Kate Capshaw in October in London
Wicked director Jon Chu also donated to Van Der Beek's GoFundMe; pictured on the set of Wicked: For Good with Ariana Grande (L) and Cynthia Erivo (R)
Chu donated $10,000, putting him among the top donations for the fund
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'Now, nobody in their right mind would ever draw a parallel between the two, but one very big similarity between Dawson and the Phantom of the Opera is that both of them were faced with the reality that the woman they loved truly loved somebody else, said, "Go to him. Go to him now before I change my mind." Only one resulted in a crying face meme,' joked Van Der Beek, before he introduced a performance of The Music Of The Night by Norm Lewis.
